Left to right, back row: Adam Chodosh, Kaikane Glorioso, Hunter Hurtado, Annika Howe, Marlene Block, Lourdes Liao, Valerie Perez, Jools Hans Richard Lufft, Fanny Kung, Skyy Blue. Front Row: Theodore McLain, Lisa Chuang, Sophia Siangco, Bianca Bunnell, Michelle Matsuda, Scarlett Baeza, Jaedon Anthony.
On November 18, 2023, the HPU Debate Society hosted 23 students from HPU and Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi (BYUH) at the 2023 Hawaiʻi Pacific Autumn Invitational.
This year, Chris Manongdo, Qing Li, and Rosalind Malolo Pedron from BYUH won the event, with HPU’s Jaedon Anthony winning the “Top Speaker” award. Congratulations to all award winners for this admirable achievement.
Debaters discussed four topics during this event:
- Round 1: This house, as the State of Hawaiʻi, would institute a widespread Housing First initiative.
- Round 2: This house supports vigilante justice.
- Semifinals: This house believes that public speaking should be a required course at all universities.
- Grand Finals: This house believes that living in the moment is preferable to planning for the future.
HPU student Scarlett Baeza noted that, “Each student was able to grow and learn from this tournament and I can't wait to compete in the spring and see how everyone continues to improve.”
Left to right: Valerie Perez, Lisa Chuang, Kaikane Glorioso, Lourdes Liao.
The HPU Debate Society extends a special mahalo to HPU’s Department of Arts, Communication, Languages, and Media for the continued support, enabling the HPU Debate Society to host not only the 2023 Hawaiʻi Pacific Autumn Invitational but also the upcoming 2024 Pan Pacific Debate Championships, to be held on March 22-23, 2024. The HPU Debate Society also thanks the HPU MASCOM students Valerie Perez and Lourdes Liao, Associate Professor Lisa Chuang, Ph.D., and HPU Lecturer Jason Genegabus for helping facilitate the event.
The HPU Debate Society works to empower students to be able to speak effectively and defend their own beliefs through rigorous practice and competition. The HPU Debate Society primarily competes in the British Parliamentary Debate, a popular debate format used by a multitude of universities around the world.
For more information, please contact Kaikane Glorioso, HPU Debate Coach and MA in Strategic Communication student, at kglorioso1@my.hpu.edu.
